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MR. WILLIAM CHRISTIE GOSSE.— The members of the Civil Service, and of the Surveyor General's Department in particular, were greatly shocked to hear on Friday afttrnoon. August 12,

of the death of Mr. W. C. Gosse, the Deputy Surveyor-General, at his residence, Kent Town, on Friday morning. For some time past the deceased gentleman has been seriously ill, but although he has had several relapses, still his constitution overcame each of them, and he was supposed to be much better on the morning of tbe day when he died. His ill-health had been so serious a matter that he was compelled to apply for twelve months' leave of absence, and tbe Government at once acceded to his request, his leave having date from last July 1. It was his intention, if his health permitted, to have taken a voyage to England. Mr. Gosse was the eldest surviving son of Dr. William Gosse, and was born at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in 1842. He arrived here with his father in 1850, and was educated at Mr. J L. Young's school, where he displayed a special aptitude for drawing. He joined the Surveyor-General's personal staff in October, 1659, and accompanied that gentle- man on his trigonometrical survey in the Far North as a cadet. He has been connected with the department ever since, having passed through all the grades in the most satisfactory manner. His zeal and ability had so distinguished him that in 1872 he was selected as the leader of the central and western exploring expedition, his duty being to inspect the country south-west of Central Mount Stuart, and to endeavour to reach Western Australia. The party left Alice Springs on April 23, 1873, and returned to the telegraph line on December 19 of the same year The Surveyor-General, in forwarding Mr Gosse's diary to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, stated that, although the expedition had not reached Perth, still it had placed in the possession of the department details of over 60,000 square miles of country. Mr. Gosse discovered in the course of the journey an extraordinary rock which he named Ayers Rock, after Sir Henry Ayers. He describes it as follows:— "This is a high mass of granite, the surface of which has been honeycombed and is decomposing. It is 1,100 feet above the surrounding country, two miles in length east and west, and one mile wide. This seems to be a favourite resort of the natives, judging from the numerous camps in every cave. The caves are formed of large pieces breaking off the main rock and falling to the foot. The blacks amuse themselves by covering the walls with all sorts of devices. , . . This rock is certainly the most wonderful natural feature I have ever seen. What a grand sight it must present in the wet season with waterfalls in every direction. "The party reached its furthest point on September 17, lat. 20 21S , long. 126 59' E., and started on its return to the telegraph line on September 22. The Government appointed him in 1875 to the office of Deputy Surveyor-General, a position he held at the time of his death. He married a daughter of Mr. A. Hay, whom he leaves with three children. Mr. Gosse's long connection with the Survey Department, and the prominent part he has taken in exploration matters, has kept him under public notice. He has, indeed, been the able assistant of an energetic chief, and none could esteem him more highly than the head of his department, the Surveyor-General. The peculiar ability with which the deceased gentle- man conducted his exploring party through the great difficulties it encountered won him high praises on all sides, and showed how thoroughly deserving he was of the high confidence placed in him by entrusting him with the leadership of it. Although only a young man, Mr. Gosse's services to the colony have been of such a practical character that they will long keep his memory fresh in the minds of the public. It may be mentioned that as soon as it was known by the members of the Service that Mr. Gosse was compelled to seek leave his fellow-officers presented him with an address containing expressions of sympathy and condolence. This token of esteem was quite spontaneous, and showed the high regard in which Mr. Gosse was held by the members of his department. The funeral took place in the North-road Cemetarv on Monday after-

Br-ioy the honour, however, for on tbe dissolution he resigned his seat on tbe advice of his medical attendant. As tbe bead of a long-establiibed and eminently respected mercantile firm, and as an employer of labour, he was no less valued than as a public man for bis integrity, generosity, and worth. His last public effort was made on behalf of the reinstatement of Captain Qain as Harbour Master. Though of lat« be had been somewhat irregular in his attendance at the office, his demise waa by no means anticipated, and the news of the fact occasioned astonishment as Wl 11 as grief, both in the city and at Port Adelaide, and at the latter place the ships' digs were half masted. Mr. Hart, though no! very prominent in political life, had in a practical way looked after the welfare of the colony, and at his estate at Becfscres he was doing much towards im proving the heavy draught stock of the colony. He took great interest in sport, and the clean old fencer Whit«foot and Lavinia,the winner of the Maribyrnong Plate, both ran in his name. Tbedeceased gentleman, who wason!ythirty-f oar years of a%e, leaves a widow and two children. DEATH OF THE REV. JAMES POLLITT. — The news of the death of the Rev. James Pollitt, who died at his residence, Sturt-street, on Monday, will be received with great regret because he was one of the pioneer clergymen of tHe colony, and had a large circle of friends. He was born in the year 1813, at Worsley, in Lancashire. At an early age he devoted himself to the mission work of the Church, and after a course of training at the Church Missionary College, Islington, sailed for Jamaica as the end of the year 1834. His work there lay at first among the negroes who were passing through the apprenticeship preliminary to emancipation, and afterwards among the maroons or free black people of the mountainf. He returned to England invalided early in 1841. After recruiting his health in the Channel Islands, and further preparing himself for his work, especially by going throngh a course of medical and surgical study at King College Hospital, London, he sailed for British Guiana at the end of 1842, carrying with him letters dimissory from the Bishop of London. On these he was immediately ordained Deacon by Bishop Austin, the prelate who still presides over the Diocese of Demerara, and was at once sent far up tbe River Essequibo to the Carib Indians, where be met Dr. SchomburgK, the present Curator of the Botanic Gardens, and his brother, Sir Richard Schomburgk, who had not seen a white man for three years. Here, himself, his wife, and two eldest surviving sons were the only white people within a long distance, and both hardships and perils were encountered. After somewhat less than a year's work a night spent in the river owing to the capsizing of a canoe brought on a severe attack of fever and ague and an immediate return to England became imperative. There, after a further period of rest and convalescence in the Isle of Man, he was ordained priest by Bishop Sumner, of Chester, having been presented by Lord Burlington to tbe living of St. Paul's, Lindale, in Westmoreland. Thither after a while came tidings of the spiritual destitu- tion of the infant colony ot South Australia. To him who had from the first given himself to the work of the Church in distant lands they came as a call, and in December, 1845, he again left England— this time under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts— and arrived in Adelaide on the 7th May, 1846, at which time there waa only one Anglican clergyman in the colony. His first work in the colony was in the Mount Barker District, where before very long he pro- cured the erection of a church (St. James), par- sonage, and scboolhouse at Blakiston. In 1849 he accepted the cure of St. Mary's, Kooringa, when the Burra Mine was at the height of its prosperity, and there at once began collecting funds for the erection of a parsonage, which he soon saw completed. In tbe course of the year 1854 it was resolved to build another Anglican church in the city. Of the new parish— named St. Luke's — Mr. Pollitt was elected incumbent, and removed to Adelaide in January, 1855, when his parish containsd neither church, parsonage, nor schoolhouse. Since then all have been pro- vided, and the parsonage three times over — the first one having been burnt, and the second sold, while the third is the house now adjoining the Church. In March, 1870, Mr. Pollitt revisited England in search of health, and returned after fifteen months greatly re nvigorated. In 1877 he lost the partner of his travels and labours, and those who watched him narrowly then marked the beginning of the end. In January, 1880, he was again happily married. His infirmities increasing he resigned the cure of St Luke's in June last, vacated the parsonage at the end of that month, and almost immediately afterwards took to his bed, dying, after an illness borne with tbe most cheerful patience, on Monday, the 15th inst. The deceased gentleman was an eloquent preacher, very charitable to the poor of all religions, most tenderly sympathetic with the sick and sorrow- ful, and it may be said that he was most loved by those who knew him best. Besides his widow be leaves three sons and a daughter by his first marriage -the Rev. H. M. Pollitt, of All Saints', Hindmarsh; Mr. Arthur Pollitt, solicitor, of Adelaide; Mr. Winfred Pollitt, Keeper of the Gladstone Gaol ; and Mrs. Wm. Ayliffe. Death of Lady Atbbs. — A large circle of acquaintance? will deeply regret to hear of the death, on Sunday, August 14, of Lady Ayers, wife of Sir Henry Ayers, K.O M.G , President of the Legislative Council. The deceased lady had been suffering for some days from fever, but it was not generally known that there waa rtaeon to expect a fatal termination to her ill nesf. Tbe funeral took place at the West terrace Cemetery on Monday morning, the Ten. Archdeacon Dove officiating at the grave. The chitf mourners were Sir H. Ayers, K.C.M.G., Messrs. Frank Ayers, H. L Ayers, Kred. Ayers, A. J. Baker, A. B. Lungley. and J. Bagot; while among those present were Sir W. Milne the Chief Secretary (Hon. J. 0. Bray), the Com missioner of Public Works (Hon. J. G. Bamsay ), Chief Justice Way, Judge Andrews, Hons.B.D. Boss, MJ., W. Sandover, M.L.0 , B. A- Tarlton, M.L.0 , J. B Spence, M.L.O., B. 0. Baker, MX.O., W. Morgan, M.L.O., G. O. Hawker, M.P., J. Colton, M.P., J. Dunn, M.L.O.. and O. Mann, Q.O., Messrs. W. Towmend, M.P., J. L. Stirling, M. P., J. H. Symon, M.P., S. Tomkicson, M.P. J. Fisher, W. Kay, K. Kay.O.B. Hardy, 'W Mair. .T V. Tnill. O. F. Fenn. O. W. D.

Beresford, E. G. Blackmore, Dra. Phillips, 0. Gosse, and Moore, the Surveyor General, Major Fergusson, Messrs. W. Everard, R. Stock, F. J. Sanderson, J. ArramaD, C. Peacock, A. von Treuer, Ju. Hsrvey, G. W. Hawkes, T. Ward, O. Todd, O.M.G., F. O. Singleton, G. W. Cotton, S. G. Kingston, F. B. Gall, G. Hamilton, B. Barr Smith, A. Hay, J. BooLhby, M. Salom, J. Ourrie, and Dr. Patersoo. The Rev. T. Field sent an apology for non-attendance. Death of Mb. Jambs Allbk. — We notice with regret the death of Mr. James Allan, formerly chemist of Hindley-street, and lately resident at Unley. The deceased gentleman arrived in South Australia by tbe ship Dumfries, in 1?39, and is therefore to be classed with our earliest colonists. Be was then twenty-three jeaib of age, ai-d after roughing it in tbe bush for a time, took premises in Hindley-street, where he carried on business until about five years ago. He was a man of superior intelligence, and daring his prime took M active part in every political movement, many of which he greatly aided through the local Frees. A close reasoner, a facile writer, possessed of a keen satiric as well as comic vein his letters were models of clearness and conden sation, so as always to interest even where they failed to convince. With the late Eev. T. Q. Stow, the late Mr. T. Beynolds, Mr. A. Forster, and others, he actively worked to procure the abolition of State aid to religion, and extending tbe same principle of non-interference by the State to education and trade, was always to the fore when these sub jects were under discussion. Like others who have began life with ultra-Liberal opinions he latterly found his position changed by the course of events, and lived to entertain Conser vative views on many points, whilst he never ceased to d«plore the overgoverning tendency of the times. Visiting England in 1878 he re turned in January list, since which his health has rapidly given way, and he died from a paralytic attack early on Thursday morning. He leaves a widow and thr* e daughters. Mb. O. Bowlaitd— Mr. Rowland arrived in the colony in the year 1640, and entered upon some speculations which turned out badly and left him the loser of a considerable portion of his capital. Mr. Bowland then commenced an agency business, which he continued to pursue op to the time of his death. He never sought any prominence in political or public matters, but was widely known and honoured for his unquestioned integrity of character. Before his leaving England be had carried on business in Manchester for twenty-five years, and had during that time taken a lively interest in local and general politics. Mr. Bowland had attained to the ripe age of ninety-two. Death of Mb. W. Tekplh.— Out obituary rej cords tbe death on Sunday of this old colonist, who arrived in the colony nearly forty years ago, was formerly in business as a draper in Bundle-street, but who for the last twenty years has resided at Glenelg.